The Grenada gazette., 1887-06-25

aesoTt' and' as heavy dew was fall.
Ing when they went awav. the
trail could be followed at a gal.
iop. Two Of our hunters rode
to the north to try and get a shot at
some hart-beasts seen with the glass
another went up to look around the
pool. and the remainder decided not to
move at all before afternoon. Idecid.
ed for . ride to the south, and left
with . heavy breech-lo loading carbine
across my saddle. 1t wasn't to be de.
pended on for long shot, but it would
nit to Kill, and it carried ball large
enough to kill an elephant
l soon found the bad lands so bad
that had to let my horse pick his way
at a walk. kept pretty close the ed 90
Of the forest, knowing stood a better
chance of sighting something, and l
was q full mile from camp when nv
horse suddenly halted. shifted the air
in a suspicious manner. and stopped in
his tracks From his trembling / knew
that he was badly frightened. and 1
rose in my stirrups to look about for
the cause. For time could see no
living object, but after awhile nv ewes
lighted on tawny mass on the sands
ut the roots Of large BUSH had a
field-glass with me. and 1 no sooner
brought it to bear than l made out two
lions. They were about forty rods
away, and while the male lay on his
back with his feet in the air, as YOU
have sometimes seen q dog do, the
female was stretched out on her side.
Both had their heads from me, and
were evidently asleep.
Ihad had no experience in lion
hunting. and l did not know how to
act. My horse showed strong dis
position to bolt, and l dismounted and
made him fast to the limb of a fallen
tree which was half buried in the
sands. expected he would break
away and make for camp in case of a
scrimmage. but he was of little use to
me in such bad ground. When had
finished with the horse saw, that my
carbine was in order, pulled my re-
volver around within handy reach,
and walked forward to get a shot at
the still sleeping lions. There was
nothing brave in this. Twas simply
greenhorn, and didn't know better
than to take the chances. l knew l
was good shot, and l knew I had
nerve, and l felt that l could best the
pair no matter what course they took.
1t was very sultry morning. and the
shade of the bushes was so grateful
that the lions had fallen into deep
sleep. And why should they have felt
any fears? In all that region the lion
was king His roar sent every other
beast to cover, and his growl was
menace to be needed and respected. I
walked up to within thirty feet
Of the pair, and still they did
not hear me nor change position.
l could not get such a shot
as hunter desires. but 1 was bent on
having one. The male was nearest to
me. He was curled up so that he re-
sembled a great ball Of hair, and I
drew bead on the center of the mass.
knowing that l must hit him, and that
the bullet would give him bad hurt.
Now. what followed the shot filled
me with astonishment and wonder.
Quicker than flash the lion was on his
feet, and a frightful roar from his
throat blended with the report of tho
gun. There was snarl from the
lioness, as she bounded into the air,
and then, without seeming to have seen
me, or to have aseertained what had
the lion ran down the strip
of open ground, while his mate broke
for the woods. That he was hard hit
l could tell by his gait. That she was
as ratified as rabit was easy to see by
the way she dragged her tail as she
ran. had expected fight and was
The male bounded over
the broken ground for about eighty
rods, and then went to cover in bush,
and after the female rushed into the
wood gave her no further attention.
While l realized that a wounded lion
was dangerous foe, the cowardly con-
duct Of this fellow in sinking away as
he had done emboldened me, and l
started in pursuit. I expected every
minute to see him leave the bush
and bolt for the forest, but he had diff
fcrent plans. When was half way to
him turned out of the direct course to
cut him off in case he wanted to re-
treat kept on advancing until l was
not more than ten rods from the bush.
He was SO we'll hidden that l could
see nothing of him. even when I search
ed with the glass. A random shot